Our GroupPalos Restoration Project was founded in 1990, holding its first workday at Spears Woods in September of that year. Several original members from that time continue with us as site stewards today.

We marked our 25th anniversary in conjunction with the Forest Preserves of Cook County's Centennial celebration in September 2015.

We volunteer at a dozen different sites and work every weekend of the year. Depending on the season, we cut and burn brush, pull weedy invasive plants like garlic mustard, or collect and distribute seed.

Our ActivitiesThe goal of habitat restoration is to increase bio-diversity in the preserves - a greater variety of plants will support a more diverse insect, bird, and mammal population.

Invasive plants, often not native to Illinois, can take over an area and crowd out the native plants that once grew there. It takes a focused effort to remove the invaders and give the original inhabitants a fighting chance at survival.